Chuck Hagel's battles may just be beginning

Chuck Hagel appears poised to finally put his bruising confirmation battle behind him this week — but as soon as it’s over, he’ll immediately face a series of crises at the Pentagon.

Hagel’s camp is confident he’ll get the required 60 votes when the Senate is expected to consider his nomination again on Tuesday and move ahead to confirmation as the next secretary of defense. But barring a sudden outbreak of comity in Congress, Hagel’s Defense Department and the rest of the federal government will endure the now-infamous automatic, across-the-board budget restrictions of sequestration on Friday.

Text Size

TOP 5 controversial Chuck Hagel positions

So before he’s even had one week on the job, Hagel could lose more than $40 billion from his budget.

Then he’ll lose an additional $6 billion on March 27 under what’s been called the “second sequester,” cuts that go into effect with or without a 2013 budget.

“It’s not an easy job to step into at any time, but it’s really tough now,” said Dov Zakheim, the Pentagon comptroller during George W. Bush’s administration and a onetime adviser to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

The man Hagel is set to replace, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, pulled a rabbit out of a hat in the first sequestration crisis. As the final hours of December ticked down toward what was supposed to be the deadline, senators — even hawks — appeared resigned to sequestration taking effect. But Panetta worked the phones from his home in California and by the time the Senate voted, it had granted the Pentagon and the rest of the government the two-month reprieve that’s about to run out with no deal in sight, even for another delay.

Today, while Republican attacks may have weakened Hagel as an advocate for the Pentagon in the immediate future, most defense insiders say the debate over sequestration has moved far beyond the powers of any defense secretary.

“This is all about taxes and entitlements,” Zakheim said. “Defense is not a major player.”

That statement, perhaps better than any other, encapsulates the new world Hagel will enter as he takes the reins at the Pentagon. With the Iraq War over and the nation’s eyes on the exit from Afghanistan, defense has become another Washington political hostage, hoping to be rescued.

“Solving this is purely a political question and that’s not DOD’s place to talk about,” said defense analyst Mackenzie Eaglen of the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

What the military can do — and what it has been doing for the past 16 months — is try to dial up the heat about some of the more shocking cuts it will have to consider if sequestration is enforced.

So members of Congress might not be able to travel on Air Force planes. Crowd-pleasing air shows might be canceled. The Navy delayed the deployment of an aircraft carrier to the Middle East and says it won’t begin a major overhaul on another until it’s certain it can afford it.

“These warnings are designed to increase the pain on lawmakers to reach a deal and that’s all the Pentagon can do,” Eaglen said.

Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has played an increasingly vocal role, racking up appearances on MSNBC and PBS plus several print interviews.

“Carter is serving in an acting capacity whether he acknowledges it or not, and Hagel could keep Carter as chief sequester advocate,” Eaglen said.

Hagel’s camp acknowledged that Carter had been taking the lead on sequestration logistics while the former Republican senator from Nebraska made his way through the Senate confirmation process.

“Ash Carter has been working a lot on this. He’s been the point person on the actual logistical side,” a Hagel aide said, adding, “Sen. Hagel has also been getting a range of substantial briefings at the Pentagon, on a range of issues that he will deal with if confirmed as secretary of defense, including budget issues.”